Speaking to The Telegraph, one of the injured Janardhan Pandey, who is in his mid-40s, said the dispute arose after Bansidhar Pandey, a distant relative who had been staying at their residence as a tenant for the past four years, staked a claim to a portion of the property — a one-storey tile-roofed house.

“Bansidhar is a priest. He stays in a portion of our house on rent. A month ago, he brought his family from Bihar. Ever since his wife came here, his behaviour changed towards us. Around 11am today, Bansidhar, armed with a stick, suddenly approached my brother Birendra and staked a claim to the portion where he has been living,” said Janardhan, an employee of Tata Motors Limited.

According to Janardhan, Bansidhar, who is in late-30s, declared that he would no longer pay the rent, which led to an altercation between him and Bansidhar. “But Bansidhar suddenly attacked my brother with the stick. As my father Chantamani came to Birendra’s rescue, Bansidhar, who, by then, was joined by three of his aides, thrashed him too. I was not home at the time of the attack, but as soon as I returned, they assaulted me too,” he said.

Janardhan named the three aides of Bansidhar as Dharmendra, Vikash and Mantu.

“They were all armed with sticks and beat us up mercilessly. In such a situation, it was only natural that we would protect ourselves and we did so by retaliating,” he added.

The attackers allegedly did not even spare Janardhan’s mother, 65-year-old Gyanmati Devi, who sustained multiple injuries on her right hand. Bansidhar received head injuries, but is said to be out of danger.

Sidhogra OC Ganesh Kumar Singh said that both groups were responsible for the clash. “So far, we have arrested three persons. We will make more arrests if we get substantial evidence against those named in the FIRs,” the sub-inspector added.